Blue Demons Travel to Chicago StateThe women's basketball team concludes the non-conference schedule at Chicago State on Saturday afternoon. BIG EAST play resumes on Jan. 6 against Marquette at McGrath Arena.

CHICAGO - DePaul wraps up the non-conference portion of the 2006-07 schedule with a Saturday afternoon game at Chicago State. The contest also ends a string of six straight games outside of McGrath Arena. DePaul is 3-2 through the first five contests of the road swing with two straight losses.

The Blue Demons enter Saturday’s game with a 10-3 record. TCU snapped a 10-game winning streak on Dec. 21 in the San Juan Shootout before UNLV handed the Blue Demons an 89-71 defeat on Thursday. DePaul stands at 19th in this week’s AP poll and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25. Chicago State is 4-10 overall and not ranked in either poll.

Following the Chicago State game, DePaul jumps back into BIG EAST play on Jan. 6 against Marquette. The Blue Demons hold a 1-0 record in league games with an 87-73 win over then-No. 19/21 Rutgers on Dec. 7 at McGrath Arena.

Noting the Blue Demons: In the last 10 games, the Blue Demons have knocked down 89 three-pointers... Doug Bruno has used five different starting lineups this season... only Jenna Rubino, Allie Quigley and Caprice Smith have started every game... in the seven of the 10 wins, opponents have scored less than 70 points... since the start of the 2003-04 season (108 games), the Blue Demons have held 68 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (73-of-108)... in that span, DePaul is 67-6 (.918) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... at least four players have scored in double-figures in seven of the 13 games this season... in two games, at least three players have grabbed at least 10 rebounds (at UW-Green Bay and at Illinois-Chicago)... Allie Quigley (23 pts./10 reb.), Jenna Rubino (11 pts./15 reb.) and Caprice Smith (16 pts./11 reb.) each recorded a double-double on Dec. 17 at Illinois-Chicago... DePaul has knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in a game on four occasions... the 2005-06 squad combined for at least 10 three’s in three games... the Blue Demons have been ranked in each of the last 62 ESPN/USA Today polls and the last 45 AP top 25’s... in the last two-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 63-15 (.808)... in the last 30 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 29 victories (.967 winning pct.)... DePaul is one of 19 programs that have reached postseason play in at least 15 of the last 18 seasons... they are also one of 14 teams to reach at least the second round in each of the last three NCAA Championships... joining the Blue Demons on the list of 14 second-round regulars are Baylor, Boston College, Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt... the 2005-06 season was the first year that DePaul didn’t score 100 points in a game since the 1999-00 season... over the last six-plus seasons (201 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 73 games... the Blue Demons hold a 70-3 (.959) record in those games... in the 33rd season of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 581-341.

Opponent 14 - Chicago State Cougars: Chicago State enters Saturday’s game at 4-10 with four consecutive defeats and eight losses in the last nine games. The Cougars dropped a 61-56 decision at Lamar on Thursday night after consecutive losses against UW-Green Bay, Misosuri-Kansas City and at Western Michigan. Chandra Timberlake leads the team with 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while Jasmin Dixon adds 10.6 points and Ayesha Neasley chips in 10.5 points per contest. Head coach Angela Jackson is in her fifth season at Chicago State.

The Series - DePaul leads 7-3: Saturday is the first meeting since the 1999-00 season and the 11th overall between DePaul and Chicago State. The Cougars claimed the first three games before DePaul took the last seven games in the series. The last meeting saw the Blue Demons post an 87-39 win at Chicago State on Dec. 6, 1999.

Two Streaks Snapped: The 74-73 loss to TCU on Dec. 21 halted a pair of streaks for the DePaul women’s basketball program. It ended a winning streak of 10 games and also ended the Blue Demons’ run of seven consecutive regular-season tournament titles.

The 10-game winning streak is just one of six streaks in school history with at least 10 wins and the longest since a 14-game winning streak from Jan. 14-Mar. 4, 2005. A 17-game run from Jan. 11-Mar. 3, 1988 is the longest winning streak in program history.

Prior to the San Juan Shootout, DePaul totaled seven straight regular-season tournament titles starting with the 2002 Moran Realty Classic. A year ago, the Blue Demons claimed the DePaul Invitational and Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic. DePaul also claimed the Moran Realty Classic (hosted by DePaul) in 2003 and 2004 and also earned championship hardware at Dartmouth’s Blue Sky Restaurant Classic in 2004. The most recent tourney championship was the 2006 DePaul Invitational with wins over Yale and Illinois State at McGrath Arena before TCU ended the tourney title run.

Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 37 games against Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 36 victories. The Ramblers represented the fifth of six in-state opponents this season. DePaul knocked off Illinois State to win the DePaul Invitational, topped Northern Illinois on Nov. 25, UIC on Dec. 17 and Loyola-Chicago on Dec. 20 in Puerto Rico. The final Illinois opponent is a Dec. 30 contest at Chicago State.

DePaul has won 43 of the last 45 games against state opponents and currently holds a 22-game winning streak against Illinois schools. The last loss to a state program was on Dec. 4, 2002, as Illinois defeated the Blue Demons in Champaign by a 71-67 score.

It Could Happen: Jenna Rubino needs two three-pointers to move into ninth all-time at DePaul... 10 points by Caprice Smith gives her 700 in her career... Erin Cattell needs two points for 200 in her career.

Bruno Picks Up USA Basketball Honor: Head coach Doug Bruno, along with Washington’s head men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar, were named co-recipients of the 2006 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year award. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Executive Committee. USA Basketball will submit Bruno and Romar to the U.S. Olympic Committee as nominees for the 2006 USOC Developmental Coach of the Year award.

USA Basketball’s Development Coach of the Year award was established in 1996 to recognize a USA Basketball head coach who, during the year of the award, made significant impact on the success of individual athlete and team performance at the developmental level.

Bruno and Romar added their names to a list of award recipients that includes Kathy Delaney-Smith (2005) of Harvard University (Mass.); Jay Wright (2005) of Villanova University (Pa.); Kelvin Sampson (2004) currently at Indiana University; Jim Foster (2003) of The Ohio State University; Marsha Sharp (2002) formerly of Texas Tech University; Debbie Ryan (2001) of the University of Virginia; Geno Auriemma (2000) of the University of Connecticut; Oliver Purnell (1999) currently at Clemson University (S.C.); Jim Boeheim (1998) of Syracuse University (N.Y.); Rene Portland (1997) of Penn State University and Mike Montgomery (1996) formerly of Stanford University (Calif.).

Bruno guided the USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team to a 4-0 record and the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in Colorado Springs, Colo. The USA dominated the competition by an average margin of 40.2 ppg., and the team’s first-place finish qualified the USA for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship that will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Conference-Opening Notes: DePaul is 1-1 all-time in BIG EAST openers... the team started each of the last two BIG EAST campaigns on Dec. 7... the Blue Demons dropped a 79-77 loss in overtime at USF before knocking off Rutgers, 87-73.

Quigley Named Player of the Week: Following a career-high 37 points against Rutgers, DePaul junior Allie Quigley was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week. The guard totaled 37 points with a career-high seven three-pointers to lead the Blue Demons to an 87-73 victory over No. 19/21 Rutgers. She went 11-of-20 from the field, 7-of-11 from behind the arc and 8-of-10 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes played. The 37 points were just six shy of setting the school’s single-game record, was one of the top 13 single-game scoring performances in school history and the most points scored since Dec. 4, 2001 when Lenae Williams’ notched 39 points against Illinois. The seven three’s put Quigley in a tie for third on the single-game chart – just one shy of tying the school record.

Naismith Award Announces Preseason Top 50: Fifty of the country’s top collegiate women’s basketball players were named as pre-season candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. DePaul’s Allie Quigley is second player in program history - joining Khara Smith - to be named to the Naismith Award list. She is also one of nine BIG EAST student-athletes on the preseason list. The Top 50 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its pre-season criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2006-07 season. In January, the Board of Selectors will narrow its pre-season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March.

Demon Doings: Notes following the 89-71 loss at UNLV on Thursday night:- The 18-point loss was the largest to an unranked team since a 54-36 defeat to Maryland on Nov. 23, 2001.- DePaul lost consecutive games for the first time since a three-game losing streak last season.- The 21-point halftime deficit was the first 20-point shortfall at halftime for the Blue Demons since trailing, 50-24, against Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Mar. 22, 2004.- The Blue Demons are 0-2 against Mountain West Conference teams this season.- The series with UNLV is now tied at 1-1.

Home Cookin’: In six-plus seasons, the DePaul Athletic Center, now named McGrath Arena, has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the nation. The Blue Demons have posted a 79-9 record in the arena’s first 88 games. Now in the 33rd season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 343-93 (.787). Over 26 seasons at Alumni Hall, the women’s basketball program won over 75 percent of their games with a 242-80 all-time record. At the Allstate Arena, the women’s program has posted an all-time record of 22-4.

In 30-plus seasons of women’s basketball at DePaul University there have been 13 streaks of at least 10 straight home victories. The longest streak was the 33-game run that started on Dec. 19, 2003 with a 99-63 win over Alabama State and ended on Jan. 28, 2006 with an 84-75 defeat to then-No. 5/4 Connecticut. The victory over Houston on Feb. 11, 2005, broke the former record of 20 games from Feb. 4, 1978-Feb. 19, 1979.

Over the last four-plus years, the team is 62-2 at home with the two losses to a pair of teams ranked in the top five. DePaul lost in overtime to then-No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2003, before the Connecticut loss last season. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons average margin of victory during that span is 23.2 points per game.

The Blue Demons have also posted 58 straight home victories over unranked opponents. During the 58-game streak over unranked opponents, there have been 54 victories at McGrath Arena and four wins at the Allstate Arena. Tulane handed DePaul their last home loss to an unranked team on Mar. 2, 2002, with a 88-83 decision in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament.

DePaul Invitational Recap: The Blue Demons knocked off Yale and Illinois State to claim the 2006 DePaul Invitational. On Friday night, DePaul opened up a 35-34 halftime lead with a 51-point second half against Yale. China Threatt came off the bench for a game-high 18 points to lead four players in double-figures as the Blue Demons defeated the Bulldogs, 86-60. The Blue Demons claimed the championship on the following evening with a 90-64 win over Illinois State. Allie Quigley dropped in 26 points along with eight assists as DePaul combined to shoot .529 from the field. Quigley was named the tourney MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Caprice Smith and Threatt.

Sweet in the Classroom and on the Court: In addition to making the program’s first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2005-06, the Blue Demons also accumulated the nation’s 11th-highest team grade-point average. DePaul’s team GPA of 3.361 placed them 11th in the country and was tops among the BIG EAST’s 16 women’s basketball programs. The No. 11 slot was the highest in program history, surpassing a No. 13 ranking for the 2000-01 season and No. 20 spot following the 1998-99 campaign. DePaul was the lone Sweet Sixteen program both on and off the court.

BIG EAST Preseason Picks: The league’s 16 coaches slated the Blue Demons at No. 3 in the BIG EAST preseason poll. DePaul was picked to finish fourth prior to the start of last season and took the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship with an 11-5 league record. Connecticut was selected as the favorite in 2006-07 with 11 first-place votes followed by Rutgers and DePaul. Junior guard Allie Quigley was one of 11 players named to the All-BIG EAST preseason team. USF’s Jessica Dickson was named the Preseason Player of the Year.

Streaking: Dating back to last season and in some cases, the last couple of seasons, the Blue Demons have put together various streaks. Listed below are some current active streaks heading into Saturday’s game at Chicago State:- 58 straight victories at home against unranked opponents- 55 consecutive games with a three-pointer- 22 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 36 of the last 37, and 43 wins in the last 45 games- four 20-win seasons in-a-row and four straight NCAA Championship appearances- 78 consecutive starts for Jenna Rubino and 69 in-a-row for Allie Quigley

Sister Act: The DePaul roster features two sets of sisters in 2006-07. Sam Quigley joins the program this season for the roster’s second Quigley. Senior Rachael Carney and junior Erin Carney are in their second season together while Sam and junior Allie Quigley are playing together at the collegiate level for the first time. The two duos on the DePaul roster are two of 21 sets of sisters playing on a NCAA Division I team this season. DePaul is the only team in the country with two sets of sisters on the roster.

Four Going on Five: DePaul is looking to make the program’s fifth straight NCAA Championship appearance and fifth consecutive season with at least 20 victories. Last season saw the Blue Demons reach the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the first time in school history. Entering the 33rd season in school history, DePaul has totaled 11 NCAA Championship appearances and 15 campaigns of at least 20 wins. A 20-win season in 2006-07 will match the program’s longest streak of five consecutive years of 20 victories set from 1985-90.

1K Club: Allie Quigley and Jenna Rubino have become the newest members of DePaul’s 1,000-point club. Quigley passed the mark against Northern Illinois on Nov. 25 while Rubino eclipsed 1,000 points at Detroit on Dec. 15. Quigley enters the UNLV game with 1,152 points to rank 17th all-time. Jenna Rubino stands at No. 18 with 1,047 points in 107 career games. The duo also ranks among the top five fastest players in DePaul history to reach 100 career three-pointers. Quigley hit her 100th career three-pointer in her 44th career game to rank third while Rubino knocked down her 100th three in the 80th game to rank as the fifth-fastest player to 100 trifectas. Following Quigley and Rubino, the next Blue Demon on the 1,000-point horizon is junior Caprice Smith with 685 career points.

New Name, Same Gym: In July, the DePaul Athletic Center was renamed the Sullivan Athletic Center while the gymnasium was christened McGrath Arena. The Sullivan Athletic Center was named after former DePaul athletics director Gene Sullivan. McGrath Arena takes its name from Frank McGrath, legendary DePaul assistant men’s basketball coach and administrator.

Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2003-04 season, the club has knocked down 779 trifectas compared to just 467 for the opposition. Over the last seven years, the team has totaled at least 200 three-pointers in each season. With a 0-for-8 showing against Houston on Feb. 11, 2005, DePaul’s streak of games with a three-pointer ended at 259 games. At the time, it was the nation’s seventh-longest active streak.

In 13 games this season, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 105 points from three-point range (8.1 ppg). DePaul is 117-324 (.361) from behind the arc while opponents are a combined 82-248 (.331). The squad averages 9.0 three’s per game while the opposition makes 6.3 treys per contest. The trio of Missy Mitidiero, Allie Quigley and Jenna Rubino have combined for 81 three’s this season - just one shy of the 82 for all of DePaul’s opponents combined.

At Oklahoma in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic, the Blue Demons used the experimental three-point distance of 20’6”. DePaul went 8-for-28 (.286) as a team. The Blue Demons have played in two events in the last two seasons where the experimental distance was used. At the 2005 Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, the team posted a combined .306 percentage from behind the extended arc on 15-of-49 shooting in the three games.

TV Time: The BIG EAST Conference totals 82 combined appearances this season with every game of the league tournament televised for the first time. DePaul is scheduled to make eight regular-season television appearances starting at Oklahoma on ESPN2. The Blue Demons will also be seen on ESPNU, CSTV, the BIG EAST TV Network and The mtn. All games on CSTV and the BIG EAST TV Network will be streamed live at www.bigeast.tv. The online schedule includes DePaul games at Villanova and Louisville and the regular-season finale at McGrath Arena against Notre Dame.

Season-Opening Notes: Beginning the 33rd season of women’s basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons are 24-9 all-time in the first game. Prior to this year’s loss at Oklahoma, the Blue Demons won five straight season-openers from 2001-05. A year ago, the Blue Demons posted a 97-52 win over Harvard in the first round of the DePaul Invitational. The 45-point margin of victory was the second-highest season-opening advantage in school history. In DePaul’s first game in 1974, the Blue Demons posted a 62-17 win over Mundelein. Head coach Doug Bruno is 15-6 in the season’s first game at DePaul.

Looking Forward: The DePaul basketball program signed Taylor Pikes to a National Letter of Intent in the early signing period. Pikes joins the Blue Demons next season and is set to play her senior season at Martin Luther King High School in Chicago. Pikes, at 6’1”, can play both the guard and forward positions. She averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and two assists as a junior at King while earning second team All-State honors. Pikes also picked up All-City recognition and was named by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the city’s top six juniors last season. She was also recognized as one of Chicagoland’s top 50 players by the Chicago Tribune. Along with Pikes, the Blue Demons also have transfers Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams eligible next season. Both players are sitting out the 2006-07 campaign under NCAA transfer rules. Naughton was on the ACC All-Freshmen team after averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Wake Forest last season. Williams played her first two collegiate seasons at Minnesota and averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 boards per contest as a sophomore in 2005-06.